Main Opposition Leader, Besigye, Arrested- Party Says

"Besigye has been arrested from our Headquarters and taken to [an] unknown location,” FDC said, adding that the police ‘broke’ all their office doors.

Kizza Besigye, Museveni’s main challenger was on Friday arrested by Ugandan police who also fired tear gas at his supporters.

According to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, the whereabouts of the opposition leader is unknown.

"Besigye has been arrested from our Headquarters and taken to [an] unknown location,” FDC said, adding that the police ‘broke’ all their office doors.

This is the third time that Besigye has been detained this week. On Monday, February 15, two days to the polls, the leader was arrested and later released. On Thursday, after he had voted, the opposition leader found himself in the hands of the police again.

The Monday arrest led to chaos in Kampala as Besigye’s supporters and police engaged in running battles. One person died in the commotion and 19 others were wounded as police released tear gas canisters and fired to the rock-hurling supporters.

Besigye was arrested on Thursday, February 18, for alleged criminal trespass and assault.

Peaceful election while some polling station missed out on voting

The general outlook of the Thursday elections indicates that there was notable peace across the nation.

Some voters, however, were not able to vote due to delays in availing the voting materials at various polling stations. Voting continued in these parts on Friday as provisional results from the electoral commission placed Yoweri Museveni on top of the list with 62% of the vote, and 33% for Mr Beisgye.

During the elections, access to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp was temporarily blocked. The mobile money transfer system was also banned in the same period. But the tech savvy people found a way around the social media ban to the merry of many frustrated voters.

Besigye is running against the 71-year old Museveni who has been in leadership for the past 30 years. This is Besigye’s fourth time to challenge Museveni in elections.

Governments, organizations and individuals have criticized the crackdown terming it as intimidation ahead of the release of the results which are expected to start streaming in on Saturday, February 20.